The Museo d'Arte Mendrisio Presents a Major Retrospective of Simonetta Martini

Written by Alberto Pratichetti Thursday, 24 May 2012 23:37

Mendrisio, Switzerland.- The Museo d'Arte Mendrisio is proud to present "Simonetta Martini: Whither are You Taking My Art?", on view at the museum from October 29th through January 15th 2012. In this exhibition, the artist is showing an overview of her work of the past twenty years, with about twenty large-format works together with a series of drawings and ceramics (made in collaboration with Giusi Arndt). This is her first retrospective exhibition in a museum. The catalogue, which is part of a series of books devoted to contemporary art in Ticino, contains critical and literary essays by  Erri de Luca, Sylviane Dupuis, Maria Sole Martini Giovannoli, Simone Soldini, and Maria Will, and is illustrated with 54 colour plates.

The Ticino-born artist Simonetta Martini studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich and at the École Supérieure d'Art Visuel in Geneva. After finishing her studies, she travelled widely, spending time in El Salvador, Madagascar and India, and these experiences influenced her profoundly. On three different occasions she won a Federal Scholarship for the Visual Arts, and from 1988 to 1989 she stayed at the Swiss Institute in Rome, where she found herself immersed in the vast artistic heritage of the city, attracted by Roman and then Byzantine and Renaissance art. She returned to Ticino in 1990. Right from the start, in around 1985, her painting formed part of the movement to rediscover figurative art which started in the late 1970s, and she has continued to work in this direction without making a break from it. Simonetta Martini also views painting as a revisitation of the art of the past, overcoming the barriers of time, and she even includes direct quotations from the works of great masters such as Giotto, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, Vermeer, Lega, and Pablo Picasso.


At the heart of the image is the human figure, creating a mysterious interaction of profound harmony with nature and with the animal kingdom. Human presences have gradually been disappearing, making way for a sweeping, romantic vision of the landscape. Without indulging in symbolism or metaphysics, these images always maintain a sense of mystery and enigma. With their humble yet precious materials, Simonetta Martini's paintings appear as carpets or frescoes, and her powdery, chalky colours confer a soft luminosity upon her scenes. The originality of Simonetta Martini's painting, which is inspired by a powerful inner tension, is well reflected in the thoughts expressed by Erri de Luca: "Those who approach her work believing it to be meek and docile will get burnt, and those who misunderstand it as a state of tranquillity will find the furious swarming of bees in their ears. Simonetta Martini is absolute incandescence." (Erri de Luca, in Rosso, 2001).


Founded within the walls of a former monastery in 1982, the Mendrisio Art Museum organises exhibitions dedicated to the great 20th century masters, among those most appreciated both by critics and the general public. After opening with two significant reviews of Paul Klee,the cycle of retrospectives has included reappraisals of painters such as Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Eduardo Chillida, Mark Tobey, Sam Francis, Jean Arp, Julius Bissier, Ben Nicholson, Meret Oppenheim, Fritz Wotruba, Walter Kurt Wiemken and Renato Birolli, with attention always focused on hitherto unexplored aspects and little-known materials used in their work. As a result of these initiatives, the Museum is recognised nationally and internationally and constantly collaborates with major museums in Switzerland and throughout Europe. Alternating with these events, exhibitions are held that relate to people and themes connected to the region, which examine aspects of local history and present local artists. Acting as a reference for the region the Museum regularly organises study exhibitions and produces publications regarding the region's art and history. Additionally, every year the Museum holds special interest events for schools. During these temporary exhibitions the Museum organises animation programmes for nursery and elementary schools, thus offering children the opportunity to visit the Museum and become familiar with art through didactic activities.

Thanks especially to generous donations, the Mendrisio Museum of Art can now boast a remarkable collection of paintings (including an important group of ex-voto), sculptures and works on paper ranging from the 16th to the 20th century, which document local art history in detail (Maestro della Natività, Giovan Battista Bagutti, Antonio Rinaldi, Filippo Franzoni, Luigi Rossi, Edoardo Berta, Guido Gonzato, Pietro Chiesa, Imre Reiner, Giuseppe Bolzani, Jean Corty, Edmondo Dobrzanski). Of major importance is the collected work of a leading figure in 20th-century art in Ticino and Lombardy, Pietro Chiesa, comprising, in addition to 500 paintings and drawings, the artist's own valuable records. The collection is further enriched by a body of work by prominent figures in Italian post-war art (Mario Sironi, Gino Severini, Fausto Pirandello, Atanasio Soldati, Ennio Morlotti, Tancredi Parmeggiani, Gianni Dova, Piero Gilardi). The Museum also has in its keeping over 650 Trasparenti produced for Easter Week processions from the end of the 18th century to the present day. A legacy of extraordinary value, these constitute a unique historical and religious testimony of the region. Visit the museum's website at ... http://museo.mendrisio.ch

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